Allegiant Alternate Ending
by ajennings822
Summary: This story picks up in Chapter 50, page 471, second paragraph.


**TRIS**

He thinks I'm here to steal the weapons that will reset the experiments, not deploy one of them. Of course he does.

"I'm not here to steal the memory serum, David," I reply, taking a step back. "I don't want the experiments reset any more than you do." David seems to waiver a little, the grip on his gun not as sure. It is still pointed at my chest, though.

"Then why are you here?" he asks, more to himself than to me. I guess he expects me not to answer. Maybe he plans on shooting me anyway.

"I wanted to help you," I say, taking another step back. Out of my periphery I see the gun lying about seven feet away. Even if I dove for it, I'm not sure I could make it without him shooting me anyway. I hear David sigh and the gun moves inches down, to where it isn't pointing at my chest anymore. I think I'm convincing him. And I'm mostly telling the truth. But he doesn't need to know that. I take two steps back as his eyes look down at the gun in his hand, as if he's trying to weigh his options; whether to believe me or not. I'm closer to the device that will release the memory serum into the Bureau than I am my gun. It is to the left of me, within a foot. I inch closer, my eyes trained on him. He is still somewhat slumped in his chair; the weight of his decision settling on his shoulders.

"For some reason, your words have merit. Although I do not believe you are here to help me, Beatrice." The gun rises again and I see his finger on the trigger. I can see the doubt in his eyes, but I worry that he'll shoot me now and worry about the consequences later. I need to stall him further. Just a moment or two more.

"I miss my mother," I whisper, loud enough where he can hear me. "I wished she would've just listened to you. I wouldn't have been born, and neither would my brother but maybe she still would be alive." I see David nod his agreement. I also hear footsteps behind me. Relief washes over me as I think Caleb has gone to find Matthew and they are now on their way to help me. One of them could grab the gun that is just feet away, giving us an edge against David. He looks past me and I lunge for the device, putting in the code. David's fun goes off, but I don't look, I just hit the green button. I hear beeps as the machine activates, and then I feel the pain in my side. I place my hand nearest my hip and feel the sticky wetness of blood. I look at David, slumped in his chair, gun on the floor. I turn behind me and see guards, face first on the floor, knocked out from the serum.

I try to walk and stumble, falling on my knees. I do my best to crawl out of the Weapons Lab but don't make it far before collapsing. Black edges my vision and I see my mother before the it overtakes my eyes.

**TOBIAS**

We ride back to the Bureau in relative silence. I am pleased with my mother's decision to forgo the war and make peace with the Allegiant. I am also glad that I could bring Uriah's family back to him before it was too late. Christina is chatting animatedly with George about some of the initiations they had to endure, sometimes laughing at some shared joke, eyes flitting to me once or twice.

We pull into the unguarded gate, so I know Tris' plan worked. This calms me somehow and my anticipation to see her grows with every movement of the truck. I jump out before it is fully stopped and start running.

In the control room, in front of the bank of screens, Cara is pacing back and forth. When she sees us, as the rest have joined me, she stops. Her head is bandaged, but I search her eyes. We all turn as Caleb walks in to join Cara. Anxiety builds inside as they aren't joined by Tris.

"Where is she?" I ask, panic rising. "Why is he standing here instead of her?" I glare in his direction, not being able to look in his eyes, afraid of what I might find there. Cara looks at Caleb and then back to me.

"Come with me," Caleb says, motioning for us to follow. When the others start to join, he puts his hand up. "Just Tobias." This feels me with dread like nothing else can. What could he want with me and only me? What is he protecting the others from?

We walk through one corridor after another until we reach the hospital wing. He stops me outside of a room.

"I need to tell you what happened before you go in there," Caleb says. I guess it is a good sign he didn't take me to the morgue, if they have one at all.

He goes through the story of how Tris took the backpack and held a gun to his head, forcing him to let her go. Guards were on their heels so she sent him away before they could catch up. She then blew open the doors and activated the memory serum, resetting everyone in the compound who hadn't been inoculated.

"When we found her, she was unconscious in a pool of blood. I don't know how she survived the death serum, but it was clear that she was shot. No one is sure who shot her and the people who would know have been reset. She's in a coma," Caleb says, standing now in front of a closed door. "She is in there. I'll warn you, she's very pale and unresponsive, but she's alive so that's something." He opens the door for me to go in, but he doesn't follow. I walk over to the bed that she's laying on, tubes coming from everywhere, dressed in a paper gown, blanket covering her body. I take her hand in mine, and it is cold as ice. I slip it back under the blanket and instead caress her cheek. Caleb is right, she is deathly pale. There are dark circles under her eyes, the only color on her face at all. Even her lips are pale. I kiss them softly.

"Please come back to me, Tris. I don't think I can live without you," I whisper into her hair. Tears sting my eyes and instead of fighting them, I let them fall. A nurse comes in every now and again to check her vitals, which are steady. She smiles a sad smile at me and then leaves. The others come around, talking to her, holding her hand, but they leave when it gets to be too much on them. I stay; through the night and day. I completely forget about Uriah's family until someone comes by to tell me that they've taken him off life support. I still don't leave Tris' side. I talk to her about mundane day-to-day things. I tell her about the food the staff brings to her that she doesn't eat. I tell her about the weather, although I have to get the report from someone else. I even tell her about the state of home, how the factions have officially been disbanded, how everyone is living together and aside from a few petty misunderstandings, things are good. I tell her about the apartment we'll live in when she wakes up. It isn't on the top floor, but it has a view of the marsh and the fields that used to belong to Amity, but that now belong to us all.

But still, she doesn't wake up. The doctors don't know if it is because of the lingering effects of the death serum or that she had just lost so much blood before she was found. They tell me that the bullet pierced her stomach, but once they stopped the bleeding, repaired the hole, and gave her multiple transfusions, she should've been good as new. They have a machine that monitors her brain waves; they stay the same but the doctors are pleased with the readings that come out of the machine every few hours.

After a month of sitting by her side, eating when I'm forced to, and sleeping only when my lids won't stay open, one of the doctors forces me outside. He tells me that they are going to try a procedure that should stimulate her brain into waking up. They won't know for several hours, so he sends me away. I go to the dormitory, the one we stayed in when we first arrived and take a shower. Some fresh clothes are lying on the bed when I come out and I put them on. I look at my watch and I've only spent fifteen minutes of the 120 that I have to be gone.

I walk aimlessly around the compound, watching the screens sometimes as they flash images of life inside Chicago. I think of my mother, then, and walk to the family tree. I find my parents' names immediately since I know where they are. I look for Tris' family and find them. My hand reaches out to touch her name. Tears spill over my lids as I think of the future that is being stolen from us each day she doesn't wake up.

**TRIS**

I'm walking with Tobias through the fields of Amity. He stops beneath a tree and picks a fat apple, handing it to me after he's wiped it off with the tail of his shirt. I take a bite, juice running down my chin and smile as he wipes it off with his thumb. A blonde little girl runs up to me, holding more of the same apples. Her grin is large enough that her cheeks almost hide her eyes. It's as if she's never seen an apple before and therefore had to get several to show us. Tobias kneels down and takes the apples from her and kisses her cheek. He looks at me and lifts his shoulder as if to say 'I couldn't say no to such a sweet face.' I laugh and kneel down in front of the girl. She looks so much like my mother that I am struck with an immediate sadness. But her eyes, her eyes are Tobias'. Then I realize, this is our daughter. I hold her tightly until she wriggles free and runs towards the other kids who are playing in the fields beyond the orchard. Tobias takes my hand and we walk in silence until we see the plane. It is flying very low, so low that the tree tops sway. I see it make a wide turn and then fly by again. I scream as I see who is piloting, her grin as evil as her soul was. And then there are flames. I run in the direction of my daughter but I'm too late.

**TOBIAS**

Tris jerks upright in bed, almost ripping some of the tubes that are still connected to her body. Her face is wet with sweat, her hair matted. She's screaming and crying at the same time. I leap up from my chair and hold her, even as she fights against me. I soothe her by rubbing her back, pushing the hair out of her eyes and slowly, she calms down. Her eyes open and she looks directly at me, unshed tears glistening on her lids.

"Tobias?" she whispers. "Tobias! Our daughter!" She tries to pull away from me again, tries to get out of bed. Alarms seem to be sounding everywhere and nurse after nurse comes in. I see one of them with a syringe and knock it from her hand.

"But sir, we have to sedate her," she says, bending over to pick it up.

"Please, no," I plead. "She's just come back to me." The nurse looks from me to Tris, who has since stopped fighting me again. Her head is slumped against my chest, arms by her sides. I still feel her body trembling from what could only have been a dream. "Please."

"Alright," she says, shooing out the other nurses. "But I'll have to sedate her if it happens again." I nod and then lay my head on top of Tris'.

"Tris?" I whisper. "Are you ok?" I feel her head shake beneath mine and I pull away, forcing her eyes to look at me. "What happened?" Her eyes widen as she looks around, realizing where she is and where she's not.

"Am I okay? Where are the others? Was it all a dream? The fields, the fire, our…our daughter?" She looks back at me expectantly.

"You're in the hospital at the Bureau. It was a dream, Tris. You're okay. Everyone is alright," I say, cupping her face with my hand. She leans into it and closes her eyes. I pull her close.

"I thought I'd lost you," I whisper. "You were shot and laid in the Weapons Lab for who knows how long before someone found you. The doctors kept telling me since you weren't waking up that you'd lost too much blood; that your comatose state could only result in them unplugging the machines. I couldn't face a world without you." This time I'm the one crying. Tris looks up at me and wipes my tears. She pulls me close and kisses me.

"I'd never leave you, Tobias," she says. "I love you."

And we live happily ever after.


End file.
